Surgery

Urologic surgeon S. Machele Donat is one of several surgeons expert in nerve-sparing techniques and bladder reconstruction procedures that can help preserve sexual and urinary function.

Surgery is usually the first treatment for bladder cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body. Our expert surgeons understand that you want to return to your normal day-to-day activities as soon as possible, and they are skilled at using surgical techniques that can limit your side effects and speed your recovery.

A number of surgical options are available for bladder cancer patients. These include:

a minimally invasive procedure called cystoscopy for stage 0 and I transitional cell carcinoma (TCC)

For some patients, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy first to make the surgery more effective. Because our bladder cancer experts work so closely together, we can help you get through the chemotherapy phase of your treatment much more quickly than at other cancer centers, so you can have surgery and move on with your recovery.

Your surgical team will make a recommendation based in part on how advanced the disease is (its stage) and whether you’ve already had prior treatment for bladder cancer.